With the Big East Conference Tournament serving as a curtain call for a league of storied tradition and rivalry wars, USA TODAY Sports college basketball editors Daniel Uthman and Scott Gleeson rank the top 10 players in league history. H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY Sports

1. Patrick Ewing (Georgetown): He led the Hoyas to a national championship in 1984 and two other NCAA title games. He averaged 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds a game in four years at Georgetown. Ewing, a four-time defensive player of the year in the league, is still the only player in Big East history to be named a first-team All-American three times. Ray Stubblebine, AP

2. Chris Mullin (St. John's): He was the Big East Player of the Year three times and led St. John's to the Final Four in 1985. As a junior, he averaged nearly 23 points a game while shooting 57% from the field. AP

3. Walter Berry (St. John's): Berry, a junior college transfer, was more of a sidekick on the 1985 St. John's Final Four squad. Yet with Georgetown's Ewing and Mullin out of the picture, Berry took over as national player of the year in 1986, averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds in his senior season. Lennox McLendon, AP

4. Derrick Coleman (Syracuse): Coleman, shown here celebrating with Rony Seikaly in the 1987 NCAA tournament, helped the Orange reach the national championship game as a freshman, setting a record with 19 rebounds. He finished his career with 83 double-doubles and his 1,573 career rebounds ranks in the top five in the NCAA record books. G. Paul Burnett, AP

5. Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (Syracuse): Washington had three stellar seasons at Syracuse, was an All-American in 1985 and became a fan favorite for his flashy playground style of play. He also led Syracuse to three NCAA tournaments. Joe Holloway, AP

6. Allen Iverson (Georgetown): Always a scorer at will, Iverson averaged more than 25 points a game as a sophomore, becoming a consensus first-team All-American. Iverson is second in Big East history with 3.6 steals per game in conference play. He led the Hoyas to a Sweet 16 and Elite Eight finish in his time with the team. Doug Mills, AP

7. Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse): He came, he saw, he conquered. Anthony only spent one season with the Orange and led the team to a national championship in 2003 behind his 22 points and 10 rebounds a game. He was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four as a freshman. Kevin Rivoli, AP

8. Ray Allen (Connecticut): He wasn't just a marksman in the NBA. Allen made nearly 45 % of his shots from behind the arc in three seasons with the Huskies. He averaged 21.1 points as a sophomore and 23.4 as a junior in 1996, when he was a first-team All-American and the Big East Player of the Year. Anne Ryan, USA TODAY

9. Kerry Kittles (Villanova): He scored 2,243 points in college, a Villanova record. He also led the Wildcats to a Big East Tournament Championship. Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

10. Alonzo Mourning (Georgetown): He took Big East Defensive Player of the Year three of his four seasons with the Hoyas. Ray Stubblebine, AP